Seven Years
by Moving Mountains
Summary: On a crime-free day, with the help of her friends, Raven reflects on her time as a Titan. [One-shot]


Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or anything affiliated with it.

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Seven years. Seven years of many wonderful things: living on Earth, finding the Titans, saving countless lives, maturing from a young lost teenager to the powerful demoness she was today. Seven years…

Seven years of standing on the rooftop admiring the sunsets and sunrises – every single time as breath-taking as the last. Today's sight was no exception. Lowering her hood, Raven let the sun's heat warm her face and the breeze blow her shoulder-length violet hair back behind her. The smallest of smiles graced her face as she decided to bask in its beauty; she sat down on the concrete and dangled her legs over the edge of the tower, sighing as she imagined how today would go – An alert or two? A petty argument between the Titans that she would choose to ignore? A day spent isolated in her room with a book for company? A questionable meal kindly cooked by Starfire that she would politely decline?

Seven years of being a Teen Titan. Seven years of being one of the five heroes that Jump City so desperately needed. Seven years of screams. Seven years of gratitude. Seven years of necessary destruction to protect the citizens. Seven years of good deeds to balance the scale of her demonic heritage and prophecy of Earth's demise.

"Raven?"

Startled, she gasped and turned her head to see Robin sitting next to her.

"Sorry, I was miles away," she apologised, reaching for her hood and returning it to its normal position.

Seven years of impulsively hiding away in her cloak. Seven years of ignoring Robin's disappointed gaze as she did it.

"I noticed," he replied, smirking at his younger teammate.

"You should let Batman know that his training didn't go to waste."

"It doesn't take a detective to see that you have something on your mind – or that you're using sarcasm to change the subject."

Seven years of friendship and comradery that she never thought she deserved.

"I'm fine, Robin."

"You always are," he stated, turning away from her to watch the sunrise.

Together, the two Titans silently sat for five more minutes before Robin stood up and left her in peace to ponder but not before giving her a knowing glance, reminding her that she could confide in him whenever she needed it without words leaving his mouth. Raven heard the door softly shut behind her. She stayed outside until the morning clouds drifted in front of the sun then teleported into her room.

Seven years of seeking solitude from the same three dark walls and array of windows. Seven years of escaping reality with poetry, adventures and fantasies as her violet eyes absorbed the words on her printed pages. Seven years of slowly accepting that being different – being introverted – wasn't a bad thing.

Raven raised her hand; a large leather-bound book encased in her powers floated towards her into her hand. Crossing her legs, she got comfortable on her bedspread and opened up a world of eighteenth century poetry. She'd only read four stanzas before she heard a voice outside her door.

"Rae! You wanna join us for breakfast?"

Seven years of Beast Boy knocking on her door to check she was okay. Seven years of feeling annoyed that he'd interrupted her alone time. Seven years of being thankful that he cared.

Another sweep of her hand enveloped her bedroom door in ethereal energy, opening it with ease to reveal the green-skinned changeling. He stepped over the threshold and jumped onto her bed next to her.

"Dude, I'll never understand how you can actually _enjoy_ reading poems," he laughed, looking over her shoulder at the book.

"You need more than two brain cells to appreciate it," she quipped, closing it and gently placing it on her pillow.

"You're hilarious."

He followed her out of her bedroom, morphing into a raven and landing on her shoulder as she walked towards the elevator and rode it to the top floor of the tower. Used to Beast Boy disrespecting her personal space years ago, she entered the living area with him clawed onto her and went to the kitchen.

Seven years of boiling the kettle to make her herbal tea. Seven years of someone leaving her favourite mug on the countertop ready for her to fill – Cyborg or Robin she guessed. Seven years of being asked whether she wanted some tofu eggs. Seven years of saying no.

Patiently waiting for the whistling sound of steam, she leaned against the kitchen cupboards and looked at her friends doing their usual morning activities: Robin read the morning paper as he ate his healthy breakfast; Cyborg greedily devoured his oversized portion of fried food – pancakes today; and Starfire drank mustard on the sofa while watching some childish cartoon on the TV.

Seeing steam in her periphery, she made her tea and wandered over to the semi-circular sofa to sit with Starfire. The Tamaranian greeted her with enthusiasm, wishing her the 'greatest of mornings'. Beside her lay Silkie who was sleeping. Raven couldn't believe that the moth larva could sleep with all the noise the Titans were making as they started their day.

"Friend Raven, I believe that today is the first day of spring; is this not the most fantastic news!"

Seven years of listening to and correcting the alien's broken English. Seven years of wondering how someone could be so innocent, so naïve, so positive. Seven years of hoping that she would never change. Seven years of thanking a higher power that Starfire crashed on their planet – the catalyst that brought their team together.

"Truly."

Starfire beamed as Beast Boy giggled at her deadpan response. Cyborg slapped the changeling across the back of the head. When Starfire asked why he hit her green teammate, Beast Boy laughed harder and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a brotherly gesture. The team finished their breakfast and began to prepare for today's training session.

"Training room – twenty minutes," Robin ordered.

They dispersed, Raven teleporting from the couch to her room in the blink of an eye to make the most of her free time.

Seven years of meditation. Seven years of centering her chakras. Seven years of reining in her emotions and channelling them into power she could control. Seven years of chanting Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Seven years of wrongful judgement for being a closed book when all she longed for was to open up.

Feeling re-energised, the enchantress opened a portal to the gym and stepped through it, smirking as Beast Boy jumped forwards at her sudden appearance. Robin ignored them both and asked Cyborg to start the simulation. The half-robot hollered for them all to wait in the centre of the circle and waited for everyone to be ready before setting the difficulty to high; a holographic sphere enveloped them and robots rose from the floor. Robin shouted, 'Titans, go!' and they all attacked the enemies. Starbolts and magic destroyed the foes as blue lasers and bird-a-rangs joined the frenzy. One by one, the robots exploded into hundreds of pieces but the more they fell, the more they appeared.

Cursing Cyborg under her breath, Raven pushed herself to summon more shields to protect her teammates from the flying debris and shrapnel; she was so focused on the others that she didn't think about herself until she felt something slice her shoulder and forearm. She swore, thankful that she was wearing her cloak to cushion the blow. It wasn't enough to stop the burning sensation as blood trickled out of the cuts. She pushed it to the back of her mind, determined to finish the training session and heal it later.

"Stop!" Beast Boy shouted to Cyborg, who paused the simulation immediately and looked at him questioningly. He sniffed the air once more, confirming that he hadn't imagined the metallic scent. "Someone's bleeding."

Before they worried, Raven quickly said, "It's fine. One of them got me from behind. We can keep going."

"Tell that to the blood you're staining my floor with," Cyborg said, frowning at the scarlet droplets by her feet. He walked up to her and carefully examined the cuts. "These need treatment: they're quite deep."

He watched as Raven got her cloak and wrapped it tightly around the wound to stop it bleeding further. With her free hand, she summoned a mop and wiped away the blood before teleporting it back to the cupboard.

"Happy?" she said, unable to avoid the male Titans' glares of disapproval.

"Cyborg, treat her arm. The rest of us will take a break," Robin stated, leaving no room for argument.

"I can heal myself."

She didn't need to remind him of that. "Not when you've just exhausted your power."

Seven years of obstinacy. Seven years of refusing to show weakness even if she was at her most vulnerable. Seven years of worrying about others before herself. Seven years of healing injuries – major and minor. Seven years of scrapes, sprains and scratches, burns, breaks and bruises.

Her hand illuminated with cold light-blue energy and hovered over the deeper wound on her shoulder blade. The blood began to clot and her skin stitched itself back together. That was all the demoness could manage before she felt weak. Cyborg caught her by the arm and steadied her on her feet.

"If you're done being stubborn, I'll gladly finish the job," the oldest Titan frowned, taking her silence as approval. He led her to a smaller version of the infirmary that was adjoined to the gym for emergencies such as this. Raven sighed and lay down on the medical bed while Cyborg raided the cupboards for stitching equipment and antiseptic. He quickly got to work treating her shoulder – which didn't take long because of her healing efforts – and her forearm. He smiled when he noticed she had turned her head away.

"The daughter of Trigon can't handle a needle?" he teased, cleaning the shallower wound.

"Shut up."

"Don't worry, I won't tell nobody; it'll be our little secret." His voice – silky and smooth – didn't mask the hint of mischief behind his words.

Raven inhaled and exhaled deeply, closed her eyes and meditated while Cyborg finished stitching her up. She stirred when she felt his hand touch just below her collarbone and sat up. She looked down at her chest.

"You're joking, right?" she said, displeased to find a sparkly smiley face sticker stuck to her leotard.

"For my favourite patient!" he laughed, taking the tray of used medical supplies to the sink to be cleaned for their next use. "You're good to go. You might wanna heal it again when you've recovered some strength."

She thanked him and promptly left the room. The fact that she didn't remove the sticker didn't escape his attention. Cyborg smiled.

After confirming that Raven could continue training – although he knew she would have joined them regardless – the Titans reconvened in the gym and finished their training.

"Nice sticker."

Raven had forgotten about it until Beast Boy mentioned it. Of course the most immature member of the team would notice something like that.

"I'll tell Cyborg to give you one after he's done treating you," she threatened.

Unfortunately for her, Beast Boy was used to her threats and no longer feared them like when they were younger. He simply stepped closer to her and smirked, calling her bluff and inviting her to live up to her word.

Seven years of brotherly love. Seven years of going from strangers with superpowers to house mates… team mates… friends… family. Seven years of verbal abuse that neither of them meant. Seven years of exasperation from the others as they listened to their childish arguments. Seven years of wishing he would grow up. Seven years of realising that it was happening before her eyes and hadn't noticed. Seven years of knowing that if he did grow up, she'd secretly miss their juvenile exchanges.

"Raven, it is impolite to deliver the threats to friend Beast Boy, especially when he simply complimented the sticker of sparkliness."

"Yeah, Raven!" Beast Boy smirked, backing up Starfire. "I like your 'sticker of sparkliness', that's all." He transformed into a kitten and leapt into the alien's open arms, snuggling against her stomach and looking as cute as possible.

"I still remember that spell to change you at will…"

"Do you two ever give it a rest?" Robin sighed, knowing his friends' interactions weren't serious but still tiring of them nonetheless.

"Tell that to him. I'll be in my room if you need me."

She had no reserves left to waste on teleporting so she walked out of the room and up to her bedroom. Showering in her ensuite and changing into a fresh leotard – being careful not to pull the stitches in her arm – Raven felt refreshed. She could finally return to her poetry and the peace and quiet that a crime-free day granted her.

The morning soon changed to afternoon, and the afternoon to evening. Finishing the last poem, Raven closed the book. She had been so engrossed in the pages that she'd forgotten about the dull ache of her injuries. With her strength rejuvenated, the demoness made quick work of healing the cuts, leaving only faint lines as reminders that she'd been hurt in the first place. Her stomach rumbled. She looked at her clock and realised it was almost time for dinner. Hoping someone had ordered pizza, Raven opened a portal to the living area but before she could step through it, her communicator beeped. She leviatated it into her hand and saw a message from Robin: _Please don't kill Beast Boy: we need him for battles and I don't want to deal with the paperwork.  
_

She took a deep calming breath, promising herself not to seriously harm her teammate, and entered the kitchen. Beast Boy was lying on the floor in a fit of laughter. He clearly hadn't noticed her arrival but Robin and Cyborg had. She raised an eyebrow at Robin, who simply pointed to the cupboard where she kept her mugs and teabags.

"Do I want to know?" she murmured to her leader.

"You'll find out sooner or later," he replied, shaking his head and walking to the couch.

Raven opened the cupboard, saw what was inside, and turned to face the changeling who was still ignorant of her presence – until a mug flew past his head, missing it by mere millimetres. He turned to her, his face paling as all the mugs floated around her encased in dark energy - ammunition in her arsenal that she clearly wasn't afraid to use.

"I'll give you a three-second head start: one… two…"

He screamed, transforming into the tiniest insect he knew and flying away. Robin and Cyborg grinned at the sight.

"I warned the grass stain not to," Cyborg justified before Raven could turn on him.

Starfire added enthusiastically, "I think the mugs look most delightful!"

Raven's eyes stopped glowing; the mugs gently flew back into the cupboard – this time without the hundreds of smiley stickers adorning them. They ripped into hundreds of tiny pieces and littered the floor like confetti.

"He's cleaning that up."

Seven years of appreciating and cursing the power that coursed through her. Seven years of sometimes wishing she would wake up being a 'normal' young woman without the responsibility of the city. Seven years of sometimes wishing she could live a 'normal' life. Seven years of realising that this was her normal – and to the contrary – she wouldn't change a thing… even Beast Boy.


End file.
